With the conclusion of the regular season on Wednesday night, all attention is on the NBA Playoffs which start this weekend.
Thirty teams have been cut down to 16, with Golden State Warriors looking to win their third-straight title and a staggering fourth in five years.
The Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets are likely to be their main challengers out in the West, while the Milwaukee Bucks head the talent out in the Eastern Conference.
Here, Sportsmail analyses each of the 16 sides competing ahead of Saturday night's opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets.
Philadelphia 76ers vs Brooklyn Nets series will begin the NBA post-season this weekend
Milwaukee Bucks (1st seed - Record: 60-22, vs Detroit Pistons)
Heading for the MVP award and possibly already owning the mantle of the world's greatest player, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a league-leading 60-win total. The NBA's most incredibly dominant force in attack and defence, the 'Greek Freak' has been ably assisted by the likes of Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and surprise addition Brook Lopez in a unit which many believe have the mettle to represent the East in the Finals.
There are, however, injury concerns heading into the post-season and a hoodoo seeing the Bucks not escape the first round of the Playoffs since 2001. Armed with Antetokounmpo and his high-flying supporting cast, however, anything other than a fairly easy stroll over the Blake Griffin-led Pistons would be the shock of the first round.
Star Man: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to the best regular-season record this term
Toronto Raptors (2nd seed - Record: 58-24, vs Orlando Magic)
The Raptors' highest-ever points scorer DeMar DeRozan being traded away to San Antonio for a supremely talented but uncertain on his future Kawhi Leonard was one of the shocks of last summer, but it is a gamble that has thoroughly paid off.
Even if Leonard doesn't hang around for next season, him taking on DeRozan's partnership with Kyle Lowry and improving upon it has made fans north of the border expecting a deep run into the Playoffs. Backed up by the likes of Pascal Siakam - who has been crucial during the large chunks of game-time the main duo have missed - their star talent has more than enough in the tank to beat first-round opponents Orlando Magic.
Star Man: Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard's trade to the Toronto Raptors was to help them succeed come Playoff time
Philadelphia 76ers (3rd seed - Record: 51-31, vs Brooklyn Nets)
Trust the Process - still. After a shaky start to the NBA season, the 76ers ripped up their famed plan and traded for All-Star Jimmy Butler, giving them a huge, fearsome starting five of Butler, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, JJ Redick and Tobias Harris - who joined in February - a line-up capable of sweeping aside any opponent.
In the post-season, though, they may find themselves coming unstuck. While the side happily bucks the NBA's trend for shooting from deep with that famous five, the bench are nowhere near the quality of the starting players. They should beat D'Angelo Russell and the resurgent Brooklyn Nets up first, but it remains to be seen whether they can last a seven-game series against a higher-calibre opponent.
Star Man: Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid is the shining light in a 76ers starting five that rivals anybody in the whole NBA
Boston Celtics (4th seed - Record: 49-33, vs Indiana Pacers)
Despite having had a maddeningly shaky regular season for a team boasting the talents of Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, few would bet against the Celtics making serious inroads into the Eastern Conference Playoffs given their experience and expertise.
Led by Irving, Boston tend to save their best for the post-season but face a tricky test first up against the Indiana Pacers, who have rallied incredibly despite a horrific injury to star man Victor Oladipo. They also have injury concerns of their own, with Marcus Smart certainly out for the first stage of the playoffs.
Star Man: Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving knows what it takes to win a championship - having done so famously in 2016
Indiana Pacers (5th seed - Record: 48-34, vs Boston Celtics)
The Indiana Pacers managed to finish fifth in the Eastern Conference despite being without star man Victor Oladipo since January 23 due to a season-ending knee injury.
Bojan Bogdanovic has led the franchise while two-time NBA All-Star Oladipo has been sidelined. The Croatian small forward has averaged 18 points a game since the start of the campaign while a support cast of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner have chipped in with valuable points.
The Pacers lost three out of their four meetings with the Celtics during the regular-season, so will have to spring a surprise if they are to progress to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Star man: Bojan Bogdanovic
Bojan Bogdanovic (left) will be expected to lead the Indiana Pacers in Victor Oladipo's absence
Brooklyn Nets (6th seed - Record: 42-40, vs Philadelphia 76ers)
The Brooklyn Nets are back in the NBA Playoffs after three seasons of watching the post-season from afar.
The powers that be in the Barclays Center will tell you they didn't tank (put in minimal effort during a season in order to get better draft picks) during those three years but we all know that's not true.
They now have a side which can compete in the Playoffs with 2019 All-Star D'Angelo Russell, who is averaging 21 points a game, proving the Los Angeles Lakers were wrong to cut ties with him in June 2017.
Star man: D'Angelo Russell
Brooklyn Nets point guard D'Angelo Russell became an All-Star for the first time this season
Orlando Magic (7th seed - Record: 42-40, vs Toronto Raptors)
The Orlando Magic's inclusion in the Playoffs is the surprise of the season but they are the hottest team in the East at the moment having won their last four games.
Head coach Steve Clifford has managed to turn around the fortunes of a franchise which hadn't reached the post-season since the 2011-12 campaign.
They have shown they are now the best side in Florida but Clifford will not rest on his laurels with a starting line-up which contains talented individuals such as Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier at his disposal.
Star man: Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic will hope to inspire the Orlando Magic to more surprises in the post-season
Detroit Pistons (8th seed - Record: 41-41, vs Milwaukee Bucks)
The three-time NBA champions are another side back in the Playoff picture after changing their head coach at the end of last season.
Luckily for the Pistons, 2018 NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey had been harshly fired by the Toronto Raptors despite leading the Canadian franchise to first spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Pistons, who qualified for the Playoffs by beating the New York Knicks in their last game of the season, are revitalised under Casey and will be hoping their underdog status can see them upset No 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks.
Star man: Blake Griffin
All eyes will be on Blake Griffin (centre) for the Detroit Pistons if they are to make Playoffs noise
Golden State Warriors (1st seed - Record: 57-25, vs LA Clippers)
This is the time of year where the Warriors come alive. Steve Kerr's team have been there and done it.
Another gruelling 82-game season has come to a head and ended in surprising fashion with the Warriors going down 132-117 away to Memphis Grizzlies. Should that be a sign? Not likely.
Unlike last year there have been multiple sub-plots this season with the futures of Draymond Green and Kevin Durant far from certain - both now look likely to depart with or without another championship crown.
Stephen Curry is the Warrior that makes things happen; averaging 27.3 points-per-game over the regular season further evidences his influence on games. The LA Clippers chipped away and worked hard to make the Playoffs, but they should be swatted aside with ease.
It all comes down to motivation and mental fatigue for the Warriors. Get those factors right and it is difficult to look past them as champions once again.
Star man: Stephen
